Event Details

6^th October at 14:00-15:00
Online event
in Zoom
Flyer

Laura Airas, Turku PET Centre, Clinical Neurosciences and InFLAMES Research Flagship, University of Turku; Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital:
Microglia: pathology and imaging

Host: Riitta Lahesmaa (rilahes@utu.fi)

Link to seminar: https://utu.zoom.us/j/65192337552

Register for the Immunology Seminar Series email list to get calendar invitation to the online seminar: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/D29C32AA6E8A2F7A

Immunology seminar series is jointly organised by the Finnish Society for Immunology, InFLAMES Flagship and Turku Bioscience. For further information contact Anne Lahdenperä  (ankahy@utu.fi) or Riitta Lahesmaa (rilahes@utu.fi), University of Turku.

Professor Laura Airas obtained her medical degree at the University of Turku, Finland. She then completed a PhD in immunology and cell biology and specialized in neurology and presently conducts research at Turku PET Centre with the aim to elucidate features of CNS inflammation contributing to MS disease progression. Her research group uses a combination of advanced imaging, clinical phenotyping and soluble biomarker analysis to better understand the pathology leading to MS disability, with an overall aim to develop new efficient treatments for this undertreated condition. Funding for her group comes from the Research Council of Finland, the US National MS Society, the US Department of Defence, Jane and Erkko foundation and industry. Additionally, she is currently leading two Progressive MS Alliance-funded clinical trials targeting smouldering inflammation. In 2015 Laura Airas received an international Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) award, and in 2016-2017 she spent the academic year as a visiting professor at Yale University.

Selected publications

Hartiala O, Tuomaala J, Airas L. PET imaging of microglial pathology in multiple sclerosis. Curr Opin Neurol. 2026 Jun 1;39(3):240-246. doi: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001490. Epub 2026 Apr 17.

Nylund M, Lehto J, Matilainen M, Rajander J, Wahlroos S,  Sucksdorff M, Kuhlmann T, Airas L. Longitudinal accumulation of glial activation measured by TSPO-PET predicts later brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis. J Neuroinflammation. 2025 Aug 7;22(1):200. doi: 10.1186/s12974-025-03519-y.

Klotz L, Smolders J, Lehto J, Matilainen M, Lütje L, Buchholz L, Albrecht S, Walter C, Varghese J, Wiendl H, Nylund M, Thomas C, Gardberg M, van den Bosch AMR, Airas L, Huitinga I, Kuhlmann T. Broad rim lesions are a new pathological and imaging biomarker for rapid disease progression in multiple sclerosis. Nat Med. 2025 Jun;31(6):2016-2026. doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-03625-7. Epub 2025 Apr 29.